Written question asked by Norman Baker (Liberal Democrat) on Wednesday, 15 June 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 20 June 2005. It was answered by Ben Bradshaw (Labour) on Monday, 4 July 2005 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Waste Management Licences

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will review the (a) waste management licence requirements for small, low-risk biofuel processes and (b) the regulatory burden relating to on-farm composters.

Answer: The information requested is as follows:(a) Officials are about to open a review of waste management licensing exemptions and would consider this the best place to look at representations for amendment of the exemptions regime. The review will consider representations about the inherent risks that the processing of biofuels may pose to the environment and to human health. The review will evaluate whether any activity in connection with the processing of bio fuels for recovery should be eligible for exempt from waste management licensing.(b) We announced the consultation on the draft Waste Management (England and Wales) Regulations 2005 on 9 December 2004, Official Report, column 106WS. One of the main purposes of the draft Regulations is to apply to agricultural waste the national controls that are in place to comply with the Waste Framework Directive and which currently apply to all other sectors of industry and types of waste. The consultation paper included a Regulatory Impact Assessment and is available in the Library of the House and on the Department's website at http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/agwaste-regs/index.htm. The consultation closed on 18 March 2005 and we are currently considering the responses to it.

Secondary information